Unfair Odds
by Jenna Cassie Herdz
Summary: When the crews of the Bebop and the Outlaw Star hear that the biggest bounty in the galaxy is on planet Gunsmoke, it's time to go hunting. What happens when the odds are three to one?
1. Cowboy, Job, Competition, Untamed

**A/N:** Welcome to my first X-over fanfic! I put it under Trigun just because all of this stays mostly on the planet Gunsmoke. It's a Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star and Trigun X-over. I love these three animes, but Trigun is my favorite. well, without further gilding the lily, here's the first chappie! Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 1: The Cowboys, the Job, the Competition and the Untamed**_

Spike sat in front of the TV, cleaning his gun at the table, Ein the dog at his feet, watching him.

"_Let's see what's on the menu for today, shall we?"_ the man from Big Shots said. _"Wow! It's a Double Deuce!"_

Spike stopped wiping down the barrel of his gun and looked up at the TV.

"_His name is Vash the Stampede, and unfortunately we...don't have a picture of him."_

"_What?!"_ his girl partner squeaked. _"No picture?! But, how are all those cowboys out there gonna find him if they don't know what he looks like?!"_

"_Don't think we're gonna leave 'em hangin' sugar!"_ the man assured her as Spike set his gun down, now paying full attention to the TV and ignoring Ed humming in the background. _"We may not know what he looks like, but we __do__ know that he lives on a planet in deep space called Gunsmoke, and he's got a huge gun! He's also known as the Humanoid Typhoon."_

"That's nice," Spike grumbled. "Now what's the bounty on him, already?"

"_Well, what's the Double Deuce price on him, huh?"_ the girl wondered.

"_That'd be sixty billion double dollars in Gunsmoke currency,"_ the cowboy continued. _"That translates as __fifty billion woolongs__!"_

"Holy shit!" Spike shouted at the TV, his eyes almost popping out of his head and he quickly looked around before shutting off the TV and turning to Ed who was leaning behind him on the couch.

"Hey, where's Jet?" he wondered.

"He's gone into meditation mode with his planty-plants," Ed replied, sitting up on the head of the couch as if she were meditating.

Spike nodded and put his gun back together before standing and heading to the little greenery Jet had set up for his Banzai trees. He leaned sideways in the doorway and watched Jet water for about two seconds before getting bored.

"Hey," he called and Jet looked up at him with a slight frown. "Feel like heading into deep space?"

"Not particularly," Jet replied, turning back to watering his plants. "What for?"

"Oh, just a bounty worth fifty billion woolongs is floatin' around out there, that's all," Spike replied casually as he lit a cigarette.

"Worth how much?!" Jet asked loudly, spilling some water from the pot he was holding as he whipped around to stare wide eyes at Spike. "What're the details?!"

"Apparently, the guy's got a huge gun," Spike began, taking a drag from his cigarette then blowing it into the air again. "Name's Vash the Stampede, aka the Humanoid Typhoon. He lives on a planet called Gunsmoke. Ever heard of it?"

"Gunsmoke?" Jet echoed then scoffed and turned to his Banzai trees. "Forget it. That place is too hard to find. And besides, a bounty _that_ large is bound to attract every bounty hunter in this quadrant. We'll just stay right here, thank you."

Spike gave a grimace and walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets as his cigarette hung in his mouth. He reached the main room and flopped onto the couch with a sigh. Looked like it was another day of just sitting.

"Ed found it!" Ed suddenly called from her little computer and Spike frowned as he looked at her.

"Found what?" he asked as she sat cross-legged, swinging in circles in front of her computer, her goggles on her eyes.

"Planet Gunsmoke!" she grinned and Spike sat up with wide eyes. "Smokey smoke, ashes to ashes, dust is dust!" Spike stood and walked toward Ed to look at the screen. "Ed found coordinates from the nearest hyper-gate. Quadrant CC 43. Should take one day to zoom through space and land on planet!"

Spike examined the information on the screen then smiled and tousled her hair praising, "Nice job."

"Nice job, good job, fifty billion woolong job!" Ed chanted then giggled and fell back, still giggling as Spike hurried back to report Ed's findings to Jet.

"Did somebody say fifty billion woolongs?!" Faye suddenly called from the doorway leading from the hall to the main room. "I'm _so_ there! When are we leaving? What's the plan? How will we split it?"

"If you work hard enough to catch the guy and earn your keep, we might let you have a cut," Spike retorted on his way to Jet and she glared at him, her hands on her hips.

"It had better be a _fair_ cut!" she spat back and Ein barked from his place on the floor in front of the couch.

"Faye-Faye!" Ed grinned, sitting up. "Guess where we're going! Planet Gunsmoke! It's in deep space! We're going to catch a guy named Vash the Stampede!"

Faye gave a frown and looked at the girl as she began giggling again, hugging herself as she did and Faye murmured in awe, "Vash the Stampede?"

* * *

_Meanwhile on Planet Gunsmoke..._

Two men sat on the porch of a hotel, enjoying a drink of whiskey on another hot day in the city of Temple. One of the men took a shot of his whiskey but when he came back from drinking it he frowned at something on the horizon, catching the other man's attention.

"What is it, Jared?" he asked then turned to see what he was looking at. "What the…?"

He trailed off and they both stared at the huge cloud of sand being kicked up by something going very fast and heading toward the town. The men set their glasses on the table between them and leaned forward in their seats to better see what was kicking up all that sand.

"Car, maybe?" the first man, Jared, guessed. "Herd of Thomas's?"

"Not sure," the second man, Sam, replied, squinting to see farther. "Too small to be a car, and I only see one speck. Maybe it's one Thomas?"

"_One_ Thomas kickin' up _that_ much dirt?" Jared wondered in disbelief. "Maybe it's a motorcycle?"

"Well, we're not gonna find out just sitting here," Sam retorted, standing. "We'll have to go see."

"Or, we could wait for _it_ to come to _us_," Jared smirked, sitting back in his chair and tilting his hat in front of his eyes to shade them and Sam glared at him. He was about to step off the porch when he stopped and Jared shot up in his seat. They'd heard a loud, wild yell and a few gunshots followed it. Jared stood up slowly and stepped next to Sam to see whatever he saw.

The speck was starting to take form and they saw now that it was a _person_ kicking up all that sand. The figure looked like it was running, but before they could see a face, or try to make out if it was a man or a woman, two cars swerved to be out of the sand cloud in its wake. The cars had huge guns mounted on their roofs, along with a few men with hand guns and rifles hanging from the windows or sitting on with the big guns. Sam and Jared yelled in frightened shock and ran into the hotel, not seeing any of what happened next.

The men on the cars started shooting at the man running, for it was, in fact, a man. He was yelling and running as fast as he could, fountains of tears gushing from his eyes as he kept yelling, "Why does this always happen to _me_?!"

He gave a girlish scream when the bullets started flying toward him and he dodged them expertly, his red coat bellowing with wind and sand, his blonde hair somehow still spiked up on his head.

"How can he keep up this pace?!" one of the drivers yelled at one of the other men. "We've been chasing him like this for fifty iles now!"

"Just shut up and drive!" the man he was talking to shouted and aimed his rifle at the man running. "Hold still you---!"

The blonde man suddenly dug his heels into the sand and skidded to a stop and the cars on either side of him whizzed past him as he fell face first into the sand from stopping suddenly at the speed he had been running. He skidded forward a bit then flopped fully onto the ground as the sound of rubber grinding on dirt was heard as the drivers of both cars hit the breaks.

"What the hell'd he do _that_ for?" one of the men asked, and another shrugged. "He's got nowhere to hide now."

"Maybe he died from exhaustion?" the other man replied.

"Are you kidding?!" the first man snapped. "This is Vash the Stampede! He can't _die_ of exhaustion!"

"Either way, it doesn't matter," another man piped up, climbing out of the car. "We can take him in dead _or_ alive and get the reward. Come on. Let's load him into the car."

A few men jumped out of the cars and walked toward Vash who hadn't moved from his spot the whole time. They cautiously walked toward him, not knowing if he was really dead or if he was just faking it to get the jump on them. They soon found out when he lifted one of his hands and fired his gun toward them. They all froze but none of them were hit. In fact, the bullet had missed them all completely. They looked around at each other and Vash lifted his head from the ground, an exhausted look over his face.

"Oh, I didn't hit anyone?" he wondered, unenthused. "Damn. I thought I had the angle right."

The men looked at each other and grinned smugly, thinking it would be easy to tie him up and take him to the nearest sheriff's office and collect their bounty, seeing as he was so disoriented that he couldn't shoot to hit them. The men walked toward him with full confidence, but Vash wasn't done yet. He fired his gun toward them five more times, emptying his gun and making them stop again.

"Damn," Vash sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I didn't hit _any_ of you?"

"Nope, Mr. Humanoid Typhoon," one of the men smirked, smugly as he knelt down at Vash's head. "Not a one of us. You'll just have to make peace with the fact that you didn't kill anyone today."

"Well, I don't like blood," Vash replied, rolling over onto his back as the other men crowded around him. "I was really just trying to wound you anyway. My search is for love and peace, not death."

The man kneeling burst into laughter then said, "You're kidding me! Love and peace?! After all the damage you've caused you think you can find love and peace?!"

"Well, this world is made of it, after all," Vash murmured, staring at the sky. "It's possible, even for me to find it."

"Let's see if you can find it in a jail cell, then," one of the other men smirked evilly and one man with a rope came up to tie him up.

"Ah! No! Please! Ow! That hurts! Stop it!" Vash yelled, trying to struggle away, but the men around him were 'too strong' for him to escape and he was tied up in moments. One of the men slung the scrawny man over his shoulder and hauled him toward the cars. "Ouch! Hey! Put me down! I won't run away! Honest! Could you please put me down?!"

"Sure, we'll put you down," the man carrying him laughed, evilly and threw him into the back of the car, making Vash grunt in pain. "Comfy?"

"Actually, it _is_ a little cooler in here than out there," Vash replied, meekly and the men frowned at him in wonder.

"You're a weird one," one of them blurted.

"Yeah," Vash chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I get that a lot."

The men were about to close the door, chuckling at him but froze as he put his arm down. Vash stared at them in wide-eyed wonder as they stared back at him and he looked down at his hand. He screamed and just as the man in the doorway of the car lunged toward him to keep him from escaping, Vash flew out the window, tucked and rolled across the sand and ran toward the town they were just outside of.

"Get in the cars and get him!" one of the bounty hunters shouted and they all piled in the car as some of them started firing their guns at him but he only dodged them by jumping and hopping through the sand.

"Hey!" one man shouted. "We have two flat tires!"

"Us too!" the other driver shouted and they all growled in frustration.

"Get him with the big guns!" another man shouted and the men manning the guns on the roofs of the cars aimed and tried to fire. They growled in frustration and one of the men growled, "What the hell is the matter?! Fire at him already!"

"We can't!" the men shouted in unison. "There's a bullet jamming the hammer!"

* * *

_Meanwhile on Sentinel Three..._

Gene sat back on the couch, feet up on the table, his hands cradling his head back and snoring loudly, making some strands of his red hair float up with every breath out. Jim glared at the older man's laziness then sighed as he turned back to his computer.

"Ya know, Gene, this would go a lot faster if you got your lazy butt up and helped me find a job for us," he said, not looking at him but hoping he'd said it loud enough to wake him up. He groaned and looked back at Gene who wasn't moving then was about to get up and kick him awake when the phone rang.

Jim picked up the phone and grinned, "Hi! Starwind and Hawking, here! We fix everything from engines to relationships! So what is it you need?"

"_Oh, Jim! How are you?!_" Fred Luo's voice came through the receiver and up on the screen.

"Oh, h-hi, Fred," Jim sputtered, nervously at the grinning man. "I'm fine, thanks."

"If he's calling about the money we owe him, tell him we're getting' there," Gene suddenly piped up and Jim whirled a glare toward him.

"Oh, _now_ you're awake!" he spat and Gene smirked, not moving from his comfortable position.

"_Jim, let me talk to Gene_," Fred requested. "_I've got some information on a job he might find interesting_."

"Alright," Jim nodded then turned back to Gene to hold the phone to him and say, "He wants to talk to you about a job."

Gene groaned and rolled his eyes as he stood and snatched the phone from Jim's hand who stuck his tongue out at him.

"Hiya, Fred," Gene spoke into the phone and stared at the screen. "Jim tells me you have a job for us."

"_Oh, yes_," Fred nodded, smiling and rubbing at his ear. "_It's a bounty hunt for a man on some deep space planet called Gunsmoke. His name is Vash the Stampede, but he also goes by the Humanoid Typhoon. If anyone can handle this one, __you__ can. No one knows what he looks like, but they say he's blonde and has a huge gun_."

"Well, I'm sure that narrows it down," Gene muttered sarcastically then asked, "How much does it pay?"

"_Sixty billion double dollars in the planet's currency_," Fred replied, lowering his hand from rubbing his ear.

"Double dollars?" Gene echoed with a frown. "How much in wong?"

"_Oh, about forty billion_," Fred shrugged casually.

"_Forty billion_?!" Gene and Jim echoed in a shout at the screen, eyes wide in disbelief.

"With _that_ kind of money, we can keep repairs going to the Outlaw Star, have food for ourselves and do whatever else we want for _years_!" Jim thought out loud as he stared at Gene.

"We'll take it," Gene agreed with a cocky smirk. "What're the coordinates for this planet, Fred?"

"_I'll send them over to you now, but_…" Fred trailed off and Gene raised a brow in suspicion.

"Yeah, what is it, Fred?" he asked, hesitantly.

"_Well, there's something else_," Fred replied. "_I'll pay you, but I have to have a cut of the forty billion_."

"What for?" Gene wondered, not surprised that Fred was asking for something for himself. There was _always_ a catch with Fred.

"_It seems, I've racked up a debt myself_," Fred chuckled nervously. "_If I don't pay off some guys I lost a bet to, I'm dead meat!_"

"Wait a minute, you've got money comin' out your ass! How could you be in debt?!" Gene snapped at the screen.

"_Well, when I gamble, I use my private account_," Fred replied, rubbing his ear again. "_When it comes to business, dad let's me use __his__ account. My private account is shot. Gene, you __have__ to do this for me, please?! I gave you the information! You have to help me!_"

Gene sighed in exhaustion, then smirked at the screen and replied, "Aw, come on, Fred. Have I ever turned you down for a favor?"

"_Oh, thank you, Gene!_" Fred cheered. "_If you were here, I'd kiss you!_"

"I'm glad I'm _not_ there," Gene muttered.

"_What was that?_"

"Nothing! So, we'll leave right away," Gene gave his cocky smirk to the screen again. "Send the coordinates to Gilliam and we'll be underway as soon as we're ready."

"_Right away!_" Fred grinned with a nod. "_Good luck!_"

The screen went dark and Gene hung up the phone then patted Jim on the shoulder saying, "Come on. We gotta get the Outlaw Star stocked with food and ammunition."

"Gene, are you sure about this?" Jim asked, standing from his seat and following Gene into the kitchen. "I mean, you didn't even ask him how much he owes."

"If I know Fred, it's not _that_ much," Gene replied, walking into the kitchen where Melfina was making lunch. "Besides, when we get the guy, we'll have enough money to pay off his debt, pay off _our_ debt, redo the Outlaw Star five times over and still have enough left for a few months on the town. Don't worry about it."

"What are you talking about, Gene?" Melfina asked with a slight frown, drawing his and Jim's attention.

"We've got a big job, Mel," Gene smirked, walking toward her. "It's worth a lot more than even the biggest jobs here would pay."

"Really?" Melfina smiled. "How much is it?"

"Forty billion wong," Gene grinned greedily, and neither of them noticed Jim sneak back out of the room to his computer. "We'll be swimming in dough when we get back, even with our debts and repairs." He stepped toward Melfina, finally noticing that Jim was gone and murmured to her, sweetly. "We'll be leaving as soon as possible. Be ready to go, ok?"

"O-Ok," Melfina nodded with a blush. Gene smiled at her innocence and leaned toward her for a kiss---

"_Gene Starwind_!"

Gene cringed at Jim's loud call and sighed, "Now what?!"

He stomped back out of the kitchen to where Jim sat at his computer and asked, "What is it?!"

"This guy is absolutely crazy!" Jim reported, still looking at his computer and Gene frowned in confusion as he walked toward the boy. "He took out a whole town…_by himself_, and they say he can get out of a pinch without a scratch or firing a bullet! This is gonna be impossible!"

Jim groaned and held his head in his hands as Gene rolled his eyes.

"Jim, it's gonna be fine," Gene assured him irritably as he looked at the screen and read what was displayed. "Besides, I could use a challenge."

"Gene!" Jim snapped, lifting his head and scowling at the man. "He could _kill_ us!"

"I don't see any death reports on this screen except one," Gene noticed. "He killed a mayor or somethin', and he's just _suspected_ for it." Gene frowned as he read the screen then stood and stroked his chin in thought.

_I wonder if it's all a farce or something_, he thought to himself._ There's no way a guy who's killed before would suddenly stop killing. Not to mention, getting out of tough situations without a single scratch?_

"What are you thinkin', Gene?" Jim asked, turning in his chair.

"Nothing," gene lied. "Let's get ready to go."

"We gonna bring Aisha and Suzuka along?" Jim wondered as Gene headed to the front door.

The man stopped and thought for a moment. With a guy like this, they might need a little extra help and strength. Ever bounty hunter in the galaxy was sure to be after him if he was worth _that_ much.

"Sure," Gene finally answered. "You and Mel go find Aisha. Suzuka will find us. Meet me at the Outlaw Star when you guys are ready."

* * *

_Meanwhile, somewhere in space..._

Ebony sighed as she sat in her captain's chair, twirling a piece of her black hair in boredom and staring out into the stairs with piercing gray eyes that looked just as bored. She sighed again and leaned back into the seat, her arms cradling her head.

"Welcome to another adventure of just sitting," she grumbled, then sat up with a groan and looked at her screens. Getting an idea she decided to run the latest bulletins to see if she could earn some extra cash. Maybe take a job that would suit her skills. She scanned through wanted posters of known criminals, but just by looking at some of these chumps, she could tell they weren't worth her time.

"Nope," she chanted in boredom. "Nope. Nope. Nope. No – Wait a sec."

She turned back to the last poster she had seen. There was no face, just a vague description of a man with blonde hair and a huge gun on a planet called Gunsmoke. His fetching price: Sixty billion double dollars. His name: Vash the Stampede.

"Well, well. What have we here?" she smirked deviously, her cat-like eyes glowing with anticipation. "A man worth sixty billion double dollars. Don't know how much that translates into _my_ currency, but it's gotta be a handsome price. Dead or alive, huh? That makes things easy, doesn't it?"

She saved the poster in her computers network, then searched the maps for the planet's coordinates. Once found, she punched them into the autopilot and started the engines to point herself in the right direction. As soon as she was on course, she flipped a switch to put the ship on autopilot then left her seat to head to a separate room in the ship.

She walked through the halls and into a dark room, where she flipped the light on to reveal walls of guns and weapons on shelves all around her. She sauntered through, looking for the perfect weapons, gathering them as she went along and setting them on the table in the center of the room. She sat down and began cleaning them, one by one, grinning evilly as she did.

"Vash the Stampede," she murmured to herself as she wiped down the barrel of one of her guns. She quickly aimed the gun at the far wall and smirked, confidently. "You're _mine_."

* * *

**A/N:** *sinister music* lol. well, i didn't think i'd add one of my OCs in here, but i figured i'd throw her into the mix for a lil flavor, eh? well, wucha think? reviews?


	2. The Hunt Begins

**A/N:** here's the next chappie!

* * *

_**Chapter 2: The Hunt Begins**_

Vash sighed as he sat at the bar, twirling his ice in his drink before taking a sip. He was glad he'd gotten away from those bounty hunters without hurting anyone, yesterday. He was _always_ glad when he got out of a fix without hurting anyone. He pushed his glasses up a little more on the bridge of his nose, glancing around every once in a while at the people in the bar. He hated that he could never let his guard down for a quiet drink.

"Hey, you hear about those three ships that came in yesterday?" the man next to him asked the bar tender.

"Ships?" the bartender echoed with a frown.

"Yeah," the man nodded. "Deep space ships."

"I didn't think those existed anymore!" the bartender voiced, astonished.

"Well, apparently they do," the man replied, leaning sideways on the bar, his drink in his hand. "They're weird lookin' things, too. One of 'em's kinda raggedy, the other's a nice red color and there's a third one that's black, and slick, almost like an alien ship or somethin'. They landed somewhere near the city. Few hundred iles from the city, I think."

"Three of 'em, huh?" the bartender mused. "What d'ya think they're here for?"

"Don't know," the man shrugged, leaning forward on the bar again. "But I can tell ya, if there're three, and they all look _extremely_ different, you gotta figure they're here for Vash the Stampede."

"Vash?" the bartender echoed. "He'd nowhere _near_ this town."

"How do _you_ know that?" the guy asked. "Nobody really knows what he looks like!"

Vash swallowed silently, took the last sip of his drink and placed the ice-filled glass onto the bar. He dug into his pocket, tossed the price of the drink onto the bar and stood from his chair.

"Thanks for the drink, friend," he smiled, waving to the bartender as he walked off who nodded as he left. Vash walked out the swinging doors and stopped when he cleared them. They swung back and forth on their hinges, and after a few moments, finally stopped as he faced the street where a figure stood a few feet away from him; a figure that was nicely curved and wearing snug clothes to shows off those curves.

"Well, now, this is a surprise," the woman smirked, evilly, and Vash stiffened, ready for anything, but not being able to keep his eyes from wandering over her curves. "I come to planet Gunsmoke thinking I'd have to go on a decade-long search for the legendary outlaw, but lo and behold, here he is, coming out of a bar." She quickly pulled a gun from the holster around her hips and aimed at him. "Will you come quietly, Vash the Stampede?"

He said nothing, but watched as the people around them ran at the sight of the woman's gun and screamed at the mention of his name.

_Good_, he thought. _Run. Get out of here so none of you get hurt._

As soon as he saw all the people disappear he smiled, "Ya know. A beautiful woman like you shouldn't be looking for a legendary outlaw to take him in to the police."

"Oh, _really_?" she raised a brow in amusement. "And what _should_ a beautiful woman such as myself be doing?"

"Well, off the top of my head…" Vash replied, placing a hand under his chin in thought, then smirked, "You should be looking for a husband to settle down with. How 'bout you settle down with me?"

The woman scoffed, "Not a chance. I'd rather have the sixty billion double dollars, thank you."

Without another word, she pulled the trigger but Vash was too quick and shot off down the street. He cringed, however, when he heard one of the men in the bar give out painful cry and knew he'd been hit.

"I'm Ebony Lawless!" she shouted at Vash as she ran after him, then stopped and aimed at him again but he still ran. "I'm your worst nightmare!"

"I'm not arguing with that!" Vash called back, drawing his gun and turning as he heard the report of her pistol. The shot missed him as he turned and he raised his gun to aim at her, planting one foot down into the sand to bring him to a sliding stop. He took careful aim and fired. Ebony's gun flew out of her hand and she gave a gasp as it sailed through the air then turned to Vash again.

"You don't think I'm stupid enough to bring just _one_ weapon, do you?!" she spat, reaching behind her to pull out two more pistols.

"Oh, crap!" Vash shouted and ran down a small alley between two buildings, dodging Ebony's hail of gunfire she aimed his way. Leaning back on one of the buildings, Vash took a few deep breaths then lifted his gun to prepare to turn and fire at her but the cocking of _another_ gun sounded in his ear.

"Well, hi there, Vash the Stampede," a voice sounded behind the gun. Vash frowned and turned to see a scrawny man in blue with black hair and brown eyes.

He blinked a few times at the smirking man and said, "Uh, hi."

"Just come with me quietly so I can get paid, ok?" the man smirked.

"Aw, man!" Vash groaned. "I thought I was getting back-up!"

"Back-up?" the man frowned in wonder.

"Yeah," Vash replied. "But I guess you're _her_ back-up, right?"

"Huh---?"

"Vash the Stampede!" Ebony screamed, and both turned to see her behind Vash. The blonde man screamed and ducked just as she shot at him again, grabbing the other man's collar to pull him down with him. They both hit the dirt until the hail of bullets stopped, then Vash scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could down the alley.

"Hey!" the other man shouted. "Get back here!"

"Dammit!" Ebony growled and the man turned to her with a frown. "Who the hell are you?! That's _my_ bounty! Get your own!"

"The name's Spike," the man replied. "And for you information, he's _mine_."

"Don't screw with me!" Ebony snarled. "I saw him first!"

"Shit!"

A huge blast sounded after Vash's scream on the other end of the alley, drawing the couple's attention.

"Dammit!" Ebony snarled and shoved past Spike to run down the alley. "He's _mine_, dammit! No one better have blown him to pieces!"

Spike shot after her and when they rounded the corner, they saw a huge crater in the street and a man on the other side with red hair and a huge gun on his shoulder.

"You're kidding me!" Ebony screamed, drawing the red-head's attention. He blinked his dark eyes at the two on the other side of the crater as Ebony heaved in anger and Spike frowned at the entire scene.

"Who are you guys?" the red-head wondered.

"Forget who we are! Where's Vash the Stampede?!" Ebony snarled just as Spike was about to reply. The red-head blinked at her in surprise then glared at her.

"No way!" he shouted. "He's _mine_!"

"Oh, my God! It's Vash the Stampede!"

"Come on, buddy! I told you to be quiet! I asked _nicely_!"

Without another word the three ran to the hotel where the shouting was and the red-head stormed through the door first. A girlish scream sounded from behind the concierge desk, and the red-head smirked confidently, aiming his gun in that direction.

"Don't, you moron!" Ebony shouted, but he pulled the trigger and hit the desk, shattering it to pieces. The three covered their eyes against the splinters sailing toward them then looked to see if Vash the Stampede was dead. His body wasn't even there.

"Well, where the hell did he go?" the red-head snapped, looking around with the other two. They stayed at the door then looked up to the wooden chandelier on the ceiling to see Vash wrapped around it and panting, tiredly.

"He's mine!" the three shouted, and aimed their guns at him, the red haired man with a hand pistol, this time. They all began shooting at Vash who gave another girlish scream and used the chandelier to launch himself onto the upper level and shoved himself against the wall connecting the rooms.

"I can't even have _one_ peaceful day?!" Vash cried, staring at the ceiling as if talking to God.

"Stop shooting!" Ebony shouted at the too men with her and when they did she snarled, "I saw him first! He's _my_ bounty! Get lost!"

"No way!" the red-haired man snapped back. "I need the money! _You_ get lost!"

"Oh, and like _I don't_ need the money?!" Spike chimed in then looked at the red-haired man. "Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"Gene Starwind," he smirked.

"Oh, Spike Speigel," Spike smiled, shaking Gene's hand.

"Would you guys focus!" Ebony snarled.

"Are you guys out of bullets?" Vash called, meekly from over the railing, drawing their attention. They answered his question by firing at him again and he ducked back, muttering, "Guess not."

He looked at the wooden chandelier and came up with a plan. He stood, making sure he didn't get hit by any of the bullets flying toward him and jumped back onto the thing, shot the rope holding it to the ceiling and held on for dear life. The three on the ground stared in astonishment as the thing came down with him on it, but when it landed to their level, splinters and dust from the blow up desk flew at them and they had to cover their eyes from it. Vash shot to the door and out as the other three coughed at the dust in the air then turned to the chandelier only to find it in shambles, but no Vash.

"Dammit!" Ebony snarled and ran out the door to look down the street, but it was empty. She growled and looked to the two men who came out together. "Thanks to you goofballs, I lost him!"

"_Us_?!" Gene snapped. "_You_ were the one who started arguing on whose bounty it was, when it's a no-brainer! He's _mine_!"

"_I_ saw him first!" Ebony argued, marching closer to him. "That makes him _my_ bounty!"

"_I_ got closest to killing him when _you_ showed up!" Spike argued, pointing at Ebony. "He's _mine_!"

The three stared each other down, knowing this was not going to get them anywhere. Ebony smirked, and crossed her arms, stepping back from the two as they stared angrily at her.

"How about we work together then?" she crooned. "After all, sixty billion double dollars split three ways is still a lot of money for the three of us, and three heads are better than one."

"No way," Gene protested. "I've got my _own_ team. You guys would just drag me down."

"Same here," Spike shrugged. "I've already got a woman with attitude with me. I don't need another one pissing me off."

Ebony glared at them then shrugged, saying, "Alright, then."

Without another word she drew her guns and aimed at the two men. They were both quicker before she pulled the trigger, and ducked back into the hotel, just dodging the bullets.

"Boy, this chick is moody!" Spike snapped, reloading his gun as he sat on one side of the door, Gene on the other.

"I don't need dimwits like you interfering with my job!" Ebony snarled. "Come out and die like men!"

"I hate to break this to you, sweetheart, but you're outnumbered!" Gene called back, reloading his gun as well. "Two against one is hardly fair for you!"

The two men waited to see if she'd attack anyway or say anything else. She only snarled and they heard her footsteps walking away. Only when they were sure she was gone did they sigh and relax.

"I knew other bounty hunters would be after this guy, but I didn't think he'd attract someone as crazy as her," Spike muttered, cradling his head back in his hands.

"Yeah," Gene sighed, doing the same. "That chick is stir-crazy."

The two sat there for a moment before Spike glanced at Gene and said, "So, you gonna try and kill me?"

Gene glanced over at Spike and replied, "Nah. I'm not that cruel."

"So what should we do?" Spike wondered.

"I dunno," Gene shrugged, then sat up smirked, "First to the finish?"

Spike thought for a moment and sat up as well and shrugged, "Alright."

They stood up and made sure Ebony was in fact gone and not waiting for them around a corner then walked out of the shambled hotel.

"Guess I'll be seeing you, Gene Starwind," Spike smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets and heading down the street.

"You too, Spike Speigel," Gene replied, waving a hand as he walked down the opposite end. Both men headed to their ships.

* * *

"Dammit!" Ebony snarled, slamming her hands onto the table in her gun room. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! _Dammit_! Those two _idiots_ had to ruin it! I was so close to getting that money! Dammit!"

She growled as she swept everything on the table onto the floor then stood and heaved in anger.

"They don't stand a _chance_!" she growled. "I'll take them out, _and_ Vash the Stampede! I've dealt with worse. This'll be nothing! They'll wish they never met ebony Lawless! Those men are such…_idiots_!"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Spike sighed as he lifted himself from the cockpit of the Swordfish and climbed down onto the landing.

"How'd it go?" Jet asked as he stood at the entrance of the docking bay, Spike walking toward him.

"We've got competition," he muttered, walking past him. "A rookie and a wild chick."

"I told you," Jet replied, simply. "I knew there'd be competition, but you didn't listen to me."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Spike muttered, walking past him to head deeper into the ship.

"So what are you gonna do?" Jet wondered, heading after him.

"Something I thought I'd never have to," Spike grumbled, making Jet frown, but he only asked, "Is Faye around?"

"She's in the main room," Jet replied. "Hey, what are you gonna do?"

Spike didn't answer and Jet only trailed behind him as he walked through the ship and into the main room where Faye sat on the couch, watching the TV.

"Faye," Spike called and she turned around with a frown.

"What?"

Spike sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, unable to believe he was actually doing this, then sputtered, "I-I need your help."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Well?!" Jim grinned as Gene walked into the hotel room. "Did you do it?!"

"Oh, yeah, Jim," Gene replied sarcastically. "They paid me in invisible money! Here's your cut!"

He motioned to Jim as if tossing money at him and Jim glared at the older man.

"Didn't I tell you it would hard?!" he snapped. "But, no. You didn't listen."

"Oh, bite me," Gene snapped back as he sat on the bed then flopped onto his back with a sigh and murmured, "I just don't know how he did it. He dodged it so perfectly. It was like he _saw_ it coming. He _can't_ be human. It's not possible."

"What are you mumblin' about, Gene?" Jim wondered and Gene sighed again as he sat up.

"Nothing," he lied then asked, "Where are the girls?"

"Suzuka and Aisha are back on the ship," Jim replied, lying back in his bed. "Melfina's in the shower."

"Really?" Gene smirked and slowly stood to head to the bathroom, but Jim caught him and pulled out a pistol and launched it at Gene's head. It hit him and Gene cringed as he froze then whirled around and shouted, "What the hell was _that_ for?!"

"Like I'm really gonna let you take advantage of Mel while I'm here!" Jim retorted and Gene only glared at the boy. "Besides, you're supposed to be thinkin' up a strategy!"

"I know, I know!" Gene muttered, waving the boy off. "I just need to clear my head."

He turned back to the bathroom but another pistol slammed into the back of his head and he whirled around to glare at Jim again.

"Would you knock it off?!" he snapped.

"No!" Jim retorted and Gene only huffed and headed toward his bed, knowing that going anywhere else would result in a fit from the boy. He flopped onto bed and thought a moment as Jim looked up something on his hand-held computer.

_He can't be human_, Gene thought to himself again. _But if he's not human, then what is he? More importantly, how do we beat him?_

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Vash leaned back against one of the buildings of the alley he was hiding in, breathing heavily, and thinking deeply.

_That woman_, he thought. _She was crazy! She didn't seem to care who got hurt! I could see it in her eyes, she didn't care. She'd do __anything__ to get to her goal, no matter who was killed, or what was destroyed. It's a good thing I had those other guys to distract her, otherwise, I would've been a __goner__!_

He sighed and leaned his head back to look up at the sky and spoke aloud to himself, saying, "Those two guys didn't seem so bad. They were in it for the money, I could tell, but that _woman_…she was in it for the thrill. She's a wild one. I gotta make sure she doesn't catch my scent again."

Looking up and down the alley, he holstered his gun as he stood, adjusting his glasses that he was thankful hadn't come off during all the ruckus. He headed back to the bar where he'd dropped his bag and picking it up, headed out of town.

* * *

**A/N:** and so, the crews begin to plan! mwa ha ha! well, there it is! so, how was it? reviews?


	3. Cat Fights

**A/N:** new chappie! FINAlLY! lol! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Cat Fights**_

"Hey, pretty lady," Faye heard the drunk man sitting next to her slur and she rolled her eyes. "How about I walk you home, huh? They say Vash the Stampede is here. It's not safe to be out alone, ya know?"

"You don't say?" she smirked, lifting her drink and taking a sip. "Well, I think I'll just wait for my friend."

"Aw, come on-"

"That's enough, Alex," his friend next to him cut in, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Leave the girl alone."

"Aw, but we were just _talkin'_," Alex slurred.

"You can talk to your _wife_ when you get home," the other man said, pulling his friend off the bench. "She's probably worried sick about you."

Faye sighed as they walked away then lifted a hand to lean her cheek on her fist in boredom.

_I've been sitting in this saloon for __hours__!_ she complained in thought. _Where the hell is this guy? Spike said he wouldn't be hard to miss: A tall guy with blonde, spiked hair and a red coat. How many guys are there like that on a planet like __this__?_

She and Spike had predicted the only other place he could go if he headed out of town was Hall City, so the plan was to send her in to the saloon closest to the city entrance and seduce him with her allure to a hotel room where she'd tranquilize him before contacting Spike and Jet to take him to the nearest sheriff's office to collect the bounty. It was a simple plan. All Vash had to do was show up, and with Ed keeping tabs on the competition on her computer from the _Bebop_, they'd be able to tell when their enemies made a move as well.

Ed had tapped into the other ships' frequencies so she could see and hear everything going on without anyone else knowing. So far, things on Gene's ship, the _Outlaw Star_, were peaceful, and everything on Ebony's ship, the _Remus_, was serene. She'd alert the _Bebop_ crew if anything changed.

* * *

_A Half Hour Later..._

Vash panted tiredly, dragging his feet until he just reached the entrance and stopped, trying to catch his breath.

"Water," he rasped, then looked to his left and spotted a saloon. "Beer."

Suddenly full of energy, he shot into the bar and instantly ordered a beer, not noticing the person in the seat next to him. He chugged down the beer as soon as it was in his hand and flopped forward onto the bar.

"I _live_!" he cheered and turned his head to his right as he let it lay on the bar. His bright, aqua green eyes shot wide at who he finally noticed next to him.

A tall, pale woman in a white kimono sat elegantly, her slender legs crossed so that the slit in her robe revealed them provocatively, almost _purposely_. Her long, black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, long bangs hanging on either side of her face as her dark eyes looked to him, and her petite mouth gave a teasing smirk.

"Well, hello there," Vash smirked charmingly, standing tall and leaning on the bar toward her. "You're definitely not from around here, but I can tell just by looking at you, you're an honorable, elegant woman."

"Thank you," the woman nodded, sipping at a glass filled with ice water. "You look like an honorable and charming man."

"I am," Vash replied, inching closer and noticing the katana sword tied to her waist. "Why don't you give up your life of violence and settle down with a handsome devil such as myself?"

"I'm afraid that is not possible," the woman replied. "I need the work and money."

Vash leaned forward and grabbed her hand, making her jump as he brought it closer to his face to gently breathe, "But such soft, lovely hands should _not_ be wielding a weapon. They should be doing something much more delicate. Sewing, for example, or thumbing through golden locks of hair like mine."

"You certainly are persistent, aren't you?" the woman smiled and Vash looked up from her hand with a predatory gaze before her pulled on her hand to bring her closer to him, their faces inches apart.

"I persist in my mission to find the illusive mayfly of love, yes," he murmured.

"Well, perhaps we should search for it _elsewhere_, then?" the woman replied, cocking an elegant eyebrow. "My hotel room would be the perfect place to start, I'm sure."

Vash's face lit up and he hurriedly paid the bartender, never letting go of the woman's hand as he did so and she stood. Finally dropping her hand from his he held his arm to her, a huge grin plastered over his face and the elegant woman took his arm to let him lead her out of the saloon.

"Will you tell me your name?" he hoped as they stepped through the doors. "Or should I just call you Mayfly?"

"My name is Suzuka," she smiled. "I am commonly known as Twilight Suzuka."

"That's a pretty name," Vash smiled and added, "A pretty name for a gorgeous girl."

"Hold it right _there_!"

The two frowned in wonder as they looked ahead to find out who the female voice belonged to. A woman with short, black hair in a skimpy, yellow, button-up shirt with matching short shorts, thigh high stockings, short, white boots and a red jacket tied around her arms stood a few yards away from them, glaring at them with burning, emerald eyes and aiming a hand pistol at them.

_Jeez, more hot, trigger happy chicks_, Vash thought in exasperation but only sighed, outwardly.

"I've been waiting in that damn salon across the street for you, you spiky-haired moron!" she snapped, still holding the gun toward them with both hands.

"Who? Me?" Vash blurted, pointing to himself as Suzuka still held his arm and he only gave the new girl in the street a blank stare. "I don't know you."

"No _duh_!" she shot back. "You were _gonna_ know me if you'd gone into the right saloon!"

"Wow! This must be my lucky day!" Vash grinned, looking from Suzuka to the girl still pointing a gun at him. "_Two_ girls want me to hang out with them! Ya know, yesterday was really crappy, but today's lookin' up! The only thing that could make this better is if _you_ put your gun away, Miss…?"

"Faye," the armed woman replied. "And I'm not putting my gun away for _anything_! Get lost, Geisha!"

"_I_ am no Geisha," Suzuka replied in a warning tone, and Vash glanced between the girls again, this time warily.

"Well, I really don't care what you _are_ or what you _aren't_," Faye retorted. "Just get lost! This one's _mine_!"

"Please, ladies," Vash entreated, drawing their attention to him. "There's plenty of me to go around!"

"There's only _one_ bounty out for you, Vash the Stampede!" Faye snapped, never lowering her gun. "And I aim on collecting it!"

"Oh, that damn bounty," Vash sighed, letting Suzuka's arm drop from his as he slumped forward. "It just ruins _everything_."

"I see," Suzuka crooned, making Vash frown at her in wonder and he noticed one hand go to her sword. "So _you_ are looking to collect the sixty billion double dollars as well, is that it?"

_As well?_ Vash thought, then voiced, "Oh, crap."

"You're working with one of the other two!" Faye suddenly realized and took the shot, but Suzuka was too quick and she dodged the bullet as Vash screamed and ducked to the floor completely, hearing screams of fright in the saloon he'd just come out of.

"Hey! Don't hurt anyone just shooting around like that!" Vash shouted over more gunfire as Faye tried to hit the now running Suzuka.

"Hold still, dammit!" Faye hissed then suddenly found herself looking up at Suzuka coming at her with a brandished katana.

She obviously wouldn't be fast enough to dodge the blow, but before she even realized _that_, she was tackled out of the way and to the ground, kicking dirt up around her and her savior as they landed. She coughed before looking up to meet serious aqua green eyes staring at her with such intensity, she was frozen instantly by the gaze.

"Are you ok?" Vash hoped, and all Faye could do was nod before he stood and pulled her up with him, facing Suzuka who stood where Faye had been, her sword drawn.

"Such an elegant woman shouldn't dirty her lovely hands with blood," he advised. "You would kill her so easily, Miss Mayfly?"

"If she stands in the way of my objective, yes," Suzuka replied. "However, I will admit I was told not to hurt anyone else. I merely wished to see your miraculous agility for myself after Gene's reports. I knew you would let no harm come to her, and I would not have harmed her if you had failed in rescuing her." She held up her sword so they could have a good look at it. "I only kill at sunset, and I wield a bokken."

"A broken what?" Faye frowned, quirking her face in confusion.

"A wooden sword can still kill," Vash reminded her, also answering Faye's question.

"So, you know it," Suzuka smirked. "You are learned on many weapons, I'm sure."

"I've heard of them, but I've never seen one," Vash confirmed.

"Then this will be the first and _last_ you will see, if you do not come with me quietly," Suzuka replied, readying herself in a fighting stance.

"Actually, I think I'd rather have another drink," he replied honestly, slinging his arm around Faye's neck and grinning down at her. "Care to join me?"

Faye was dumbfounded for a moment but had no time to answer before _another_ feminine voice shouted, "Oh, _hell_ no!"

The three turned to see who was coming up behind Suzuka and Faye felt Vash tense before he lowered his arm from her shoulders at the sight of Ebony Lawless. She frowned in wonder when he took a slight step forward and held his arm in front of her, never looking away from Ebony.

"You two should leave," he said, drawing Suzuka's attention back to him with a frown.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Huh? What the hell do you mean, 'leave'?" Faye spat at him, but he didn't look to her. "I'm not going _anywhere_!"

"You really wanna get yourselves _killed_ for the bounty on _my_ head?" he wondered in a forceful tone and Faye's eyes widened in surprise at him, but Suzuka only gave a slight smirk and nodded, sheathing her bokken and backing away from Ebony as she marched toward Vash, glaring at the other woman as she passed.

_Gene told me to flea if this one arrived_, Suzuka thought to herself, recalling Ebony's description and observing that this woman glaring at her was the real deal.

"I honestly hope you survive, Vash the Stampede," she called, walking away. "I would like to observe your miraculous moves again someday."

"That'll be hard to do when he's locked up or _dead_!" Ebony shot back.

"Agreed," Faye nodded, and tried to step ahead of Vash but he gripped her hand and yanked her behind him again. "What the hell-?"

"I'll ask you one more time," he said, still staring at Ebony as she stood where Suzuka had been. "Leave. It's for your own safety."

"Not happening!" Faye snapped. "You're _my_ bounty!"

"_Wrong_, Miss Skimpy-Clothes!" Ebony called, not wasting any time and pulling out her gun from its holster to aim it at Vash. "He's _mine_!"

"Like hell he is!" Faye shouted, pulling her own gun as well but Vash grabbed that hand as well and shoved it down, dragging her toward the saloon she'd been in as gunshots rang out. "What are you doing?"

"Saving your life!" Vash retorted as they entered the swinging doors and he shoved her toward one end of the entrance as he ducked into the other, drawing his colt. He looked to Faye with wide eyes as she aimed her gun at him.

"You're coming with me!" she ordered, but gunshots and the wooden swinging doors being shot into splinters made her pull back and cover her head and eyes as Vash did the same and she shouted, "This bitch is _nuts_!"

"_Now_ you get it?" Vash wondered, and Faye gave him a dirty look before another volley of bullets hailed onto them.

"Vash the Stampede!" Ebony shouted. "Come out and face me!"

"No thanks!" he called, casually. "I'm fine right here!" He looked to Faye, who peeked out the doorway before quickly ducking back in. "I'll draw her fire and you head out the side door behind the bar."

"No way!" Faye hissed. "You think I'm gonna let you get away just because we're _both_ being shot at?"

"It's that or you're dead!" Vash shot back. "Which is it gonna be?"

Faye blinked at him in surprise. This guy didn't seem like the killer type. If anything he wanted everybody to be safe and unharmed. And on top of that, he was a goofball! What kind of guy valued life, but was rumored to have killed and blown a city? It didn't make sense to her.

"Well?" he urged. "A response would be nice right about now!"

Faye shook her shock away and nodded, definitely, "Fine, I'll head out. But I'll be back for you, Vash the Stampede. We're _not_ giving up."

"Whichever guy you're working for, tell him to send you in a cute little red number next time, will ya?" Vash smirked and Faye couldn't help the only very slight blush that came to her cheeks when he gave his charming smirk before he peeked outside, only to be aimed at shot at. He quickly pulled back and held his gun in his right hand as he moved to crouch facing the wall and Faye hid her gun to ready herself for her escape.

"I'll give you the signal," he whispered, and Faye nodded as she crouched to face the bar.

"Come on, Vash!" ebony shouted from outside. "Come out and face me! What are you? A coward?"

"Now!" Vash shouted as he pointed his gun outside and began shooting at Ebony's feet.

Faye launched herself toward the bar, vaulted over it and yanked the door open to bolt out of the saloon as fast as her legs could get her. Ebony shot at Vash for a moment, still standing in the middle of the street, unafraid and as soon as she saw Faye darting out into the desert, she aimed and began shooting at her. The bullets whizzed past her, and Ebony got only a few shots out before her gun was shot out of her hand and she sucked her teeth in irritation as she reached behind and pulled out two more pistols.

"You obviously _don't_ recall-!"

She was cut off when both her pistols were shot from her hands, even though it had only sounded like one shot. She smirked and knelt down to pull two more small pistols from her boots.

"You're out of bullets!" she shouted, standing and firing at Vash's position.

He pulled back and spun around to lean against the wall again and open his gun to load more bullets. He used a quick-loader, swung the gun shut, cocked it and took a deep breath to calm himself as bullets whizzed through the entrance to the saloon.

_This chick is off her rocker for sure_, he thought, then glanced around the saloon in thought. _I gotta get outta here._

He was suddenly jolted from his thoughts when he heard a cat-like yell and then more shooting, but there were no bullets sent _his_ way. He chanced peeking out of the entrance just as he heard grunts and shouts only to see a huge ball of dust being kicked up by someone wrestling with Ebony.

Vash frowned and stood to reveal himself in the entrance of the saloon and watch the dust settle to reveal Ebony on her back with a strange looking woman with a long braid of white hair pinning her to the ground. The white haired woman hissed at her like a cat, and Vash wasn't sure if he should run now or try to get the strange thing off of Ebony. The unidentified woman suddenly looked up at Vash with wide blue eyes and gave a devious grin as her long ears twitched up and down slightly.

"Vash the Stampede!" she screamed, launching herself through the air at him and he gave a shout as she tackled him to the ground, her arms around his waist as they fell back into the saloon with her on top of him.

"What the hell _are_ you, lady?" Vash snapped, looking down at her as he tried to sit up and she lifted herself up to look at him.

"I'm Aisha, and _you're_ my bounty," she grinned, her voice high-pitched but she sounded like a growled cat. "In the name of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire, I place you under arrest! Now come with me!"

She stood, still holding him around the waist and threw him over her shoulder as he frowned in wonder, "Ctarl-Ctarl?"

He then realized he was being _carried_ off by a _girl_ and started kicking and screaming, "Hey! Put me down! What the hell-? _I_ should be carrying _you_, not the other way around!"

"I agree only slightly," Ebony was heard as Aisha carried Vash to the porch again and he slumped in his spot.

"Here we go," he muttered as Aisha stopped, and he knew there was a gun pointed right at his ass.

"Put him down you cat woman freak!" Ebony shouted, looking completely disheveled covered in sweat and dirt, her gun aimed at the two and Aisha stared at her blankly, but her indifference soon turned to anger.

"How _dare_ you point that stupid gun at the Ambassador of the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire!" she snarled. "With a snap of my fingers I can have the entire fleet here to-!"

"Stow it, Catwoman!" Ebony snapped, causing Aisha's anger to burn even hotter.

With amazing strength, she lifted Vash over her head and took aim as Ebony frowned then stared at her in wide-eyed terror.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Vash cried, then looked to Ebony and realized what Aisha was going to do. "Oh, _hell_ no! No! Don't _throw_ me at her! What the hell is wrong with-_YOU_?"

Aisha tossed Vash like a rag doll toward ebony and they both landed on the ground with grunts each, kicking up dirt around them. Vash hurriedly shot to his feet and got out of dodge as ebony rolled to aim at him and Aisha stood with her head held high, proud of herself until she realized the bounty was getting away.

"Oh," she groaned. "Gene is gonna be so mad when he hears about this."

Ebony fired her gun at Vash who was still running, but he turned between two building and she cursed, scrambling to her feet. Aisha darted after the woman as well, but when they reached the place that Vash had disappeared, there was nothing there.

"Great," Ebony muttered and glared at Aisha before lifting her pistol to aim it at her, but the cat-woman only turned to face her as she snarled, "Which one do you work for? The trigger-happy red-head or the slow mop-top?"

Aisha stared blankly at the woman again before recognizing one of the descriptions she'd given and went to reply, but was cut off.

"It doesn't matter," Ebony cut in. "You're gonna be dead right now anyway."

Aisha readied herself for battle but before Ebony could think of pulling the trigger, a red gust blew between them, and the brunette suddenly found herself alone, pointing her gun at the air. She growled in frustration and stomped the sand.

"Dammit!" she screamed and marched off toward her ship.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Aisha squirmed and kicked as Vash ran as fast as he could down the alleyway and she finally looked up at him to snarl, "Put me down! What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving your life!" Vash replied. "Jeez! I've been saving people all day, and not even a _thank you_ do I get!"

He finally stopped and Aisha leapt out of his arms, crouching in front of him on all fours and snarling at him as he stared at her blankly.

"So, are you in league with the Faye or Suzuka?" Vash wondered.

"Suzuka," she snapped. "She and I are with Gene Starwind. You'll get to meet him when I drag your ass to the _Outlaw Star_!"

"Uh, sorry, but I can't stop right now," Vash replied, casually. "Pretty as you are, I'm gonna be staying away from pretty girls for a while after today. You should tell your buddy Gene to stay away from that Ebony chick. She's bad news, if he doesn't know that already."

"Where are you going?" Aisha growled, shooting to her feet as Vash turned to head down the alley in the direction he'd come from.

"I gotta get outta here," he replied, not looking back at her. "Preferably the deep desert."

Aisha watched him walk away, not really knowing if she should go after him. After all, he'd just saved her life, even though she knew she could have taken that demented chick out herself. She opted for heading back to the hotel as Vash continued on his way, his hands in his coat pockets.

_I've gotta take this fight somewhere else_, he thought as he walked along. _Too many people could get killed in the towns. I'll stop for supplies and head to the outskirts. Either I'll lose them and they'll give up looking for me, or they'll follow me and at least I won't have to worry about innocent people getting caught in a firefight._

He stopped and sighed, placing a hand over his eyes as he groaned, "Three against one! Those odds are just so unfair!"

* * *

**A/N:** i hope Suzuka and Aisha are still in character. it's been a while since i've seen Outlaw Star, so i'll have to watch it again so i don't mess anyone up. reviews?


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